Learn-up, people!

This is just too good not to post...thanks to the Daily Kos...although I admit all the snarky italicized comments are mine:

Things I Learned From Republicans in September:

• If you work hard, you won’t have time to get hooked on drugs and that will solve all our drug-problem woes. (Rand Paul) 

(Which might suggest that Rand has never worked a day in his life to come up with this kind of crazy.) 

• Muslims can't be president. (Ben Carson) 

(And neither should people who have neglected to read the constitution.) 

•  Charles Darwin came up with his theory of evolution at the behest of Satan. (Carson again)  

(I'll give him a pass on this one and just assume he was auditioning to replace Dana Carvey as the new Church Lady and this was part of his comedy routine.)

• America should get back in the torture business. (Carly Fiorina) 

(Watching your campaign would certainly qualify.)

• Diversity sucks. (Rick Santorum) 

 (Which is why he prefers to stay in the party that votes like he means it.)

• The discovery of water on Mars was faked by NASA. (Rush Limbaugh)

(With 4 wives and counting, he's probably used to spotting people who fake things.) 

•  It's acceptable to walk into a classroom of seven- and eight-year-olds and coldly ask them, "Do you know what a nuclear weapon is? Do you know that there are schools that train children your age to be suicide bombers?" (Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon) 

(Doesn't appear he spent much time paying attention in school to be much of an authority on anything classroom-related.) 

• Immigrants need to speak American. (Secretary of Energy Sarah Palin)

(As opposed to whatever the heck her sentences can be identified as.) 

• The Dred Scott decision is still the law of the land, so slavery is still on the books. (Mike Huckabee) 

(Sounds like the typical Republican "What the heck do we know - we're making this up as we go?!) 

• To appeal to Latinos, just leave 'em a little tip when you check out of your hotel. (Gov. John Kasich) 

(I'm sure they have a few tips for you as well, sir, on how best not to alienate millions of voters with one simple sentence.)

• The issuance of secular marriage licences to same-sex couples is leading America into the very pit of Hell. (Kim Davis's lawyer Mat Staver) 

(As opposed to people who contort Jesus' teachings to fit their intolerant, hate-filled delusions.) 

• Same-sex couples getting married is the same as gassing the Jews at Auschwitz. (Bryan Fischer, speaking for the American Family Association)

 (I'm just going to go ahead and hope this isn't possibly what the man really said and not even comment on it here.)

 

Well that was fun!

 

(For the sources, go to the original post here where the links are provided:  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/30/1425841/-Cheers-and-Jeers-Wednesday?detail=hide#)

Mini-posts

I keep holding off on posting things for a variety of lame reasons, so instead of lengthy wordy posts, I'll throw a few quick hitters down here:

 - Forget that post a few weeks back that I called "Handicapping America".  I keep trying to imagine scenarios where any of the current R candidates can win a race that SOMEone has to. Even though he still has a long way to go in the polls, I think it is High School Debate Captain Marco Rubio's race to lose.  Stay tuned next week when I change my mind again completely.

- And I still hope it's Kasich, or if not him, Jeb!? Bush. and you can call me all sorts of anti-women names for saying this, but Carly Fiorina annoys me more than all the other candidates combined. I sure hopes she is the R nominee!

 - I somehow became subscribed to Louise Hay's emails a number of months back, probably because I ordered one of Cheryl's annual Cmas presents from there, and the only reason I haven't unsubscribed is that I love the quotations they sometimes include in their various sales pitches. Today's was a good one:  

“What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life – to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories.”
– George Eliot

This describes the feelings I have for so many people I've loved and not communicated with, at least on a tangible level, in some cases for a decade or more.


- I didn’t post last week’s weigh-in total, though you can guess why – I was disappointed with the result…as I was today. So, I had started this whole thing at 208.6. Last Monday, I weighed in at 199.6 and today at 199.0. I know it isn’t bad, but I’m influenced a little by a rogue weigh-in on Saturday where I was 197.6. Damn Station Taproom truffle fries! And an apple-cider donut or 3 over the weekend.

Moral of the story - do weigh-ins on Saturdays from now on! (Or maybe stop eating donuts? 'Sif!)

- A rare sports reference here. The bad news is that the Iggles are 1-2 when many thought they’d be 3-0 at this point. Good news is the 3 teams they’ve played have a collective record of 7-2 so far and the Birds are only 1 game behind the hated Cowboys and have an easier schedule coming up.

- I watched far more of the Pope in Philly this weekend, well, just on Saturday, than anyone might expect. And I love the guy and everything he said here. I just wish he weren’t a hypocrite when it comes to loving and respecting gays and women. But these things too will change over time, I am certain.

- I am just loving that John Boehner resigned, not because he was such a bad guy, which he was, and wasn't.  But because it will further expose the extreme wing of the republican party (The Extremities?!). I expect their whole influence to implode on themselves and their party within 2-3 years, either in the 2016 elections or in 2018. I think (and hope) they'll do substantially more damage to their party and their cause than to the nation in the meantime.

- The beginning of the end for Donald Trump as front-runner of the R party. He's starting to make sense: "Donald Trump will unveil his tax plan at 11 a.m., calling for higher rates on the rich. On CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Trump told Scott Pelley from his 5th floor Manhattan penthouse that the tax plan would hike taxes on the wealthy while eliminating some “unfair deductions.” “What kind of Republican are you?” Pelley quipped. “I don’t want to have certain people on Wall Street getting away with paying no tax,” Trump replied. The real-estate mogul revealed that a “large segment of our country” (referring to the poor) would pay a “zero rate” and that middle-class and corporate tax rates would also go lower."

- I've enjoyed this new approach. If anyone has any pros or cons, let me know, please, either here or via email.
 

 

Besides, I like the new title of yesterday's post much better now anyway

So, for the first time in OPSaS history, I have made substantial edits to a post - yesterday's. Cheryl didn't like it one bit - the section about Race...or maybe both parts - she didn't say anything about my perky breasts reference. Wait, maybe I could have worded that better... she didn't say anything about my reference to perky breasts.

And even though I stand by my original thought, to just make it a one sentence post doesn't do enough to explain my thinking, and it is an issue that deserves a lot more thought and depth than one sentence can contain. So, thank you, Cheryl, love of my life, for bringing that to my attention for further consideration.

At lunch today, I read this article, which I believe represents both some proof of my deleted point yesterday, as well as Cheryl's which is just the opposite:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20150918_NBA_player_Wayne_Ellington_speaking_at_Peace_Day_Philly_event.html

It's a very sad article, but also very hopeful and in some ways, uplifting, showing the African-American community addressing some of their challenges from within, particularly with a "March for Peace" at 10 a.m. Monday from Mount Airy Park through Germantown (www.peacedayphilly.org).

And also from the article, is this: "At noon Monday, the International Day of Peace, he will join with the rest of the world in a minute of silence and he will pray for peace."

Count me in, though frankly, chances are that I'll be in a dentist's chair at that juncture on Monday and won't be in much position to be especially chatty anyway.

You think that's bad, imagine what my brain would have done if they had said that Pert and Turkey Breast was on sale

I wonder what age I was when I became less interested in turkey breast and more interested in perky breasts.

Sorry – I could have sworn they were saying that there was a sale at Acme all next week on perky breast, but turns out they might have said something else. I’m sure the radio announcer dude just has bad diction because certainly my mind would never work in a manner that would have come up with that on its own.

Plateaus suck - Boring weight loss update

I'm a little disappointed in that I "only" lost 1.6 pounds this week to get to exactly 200.0, but I had really hoped I'd go under 200. Musta been the damn potato chips I had at a company lunch...or two. Didn't have anything to do with the willpower of the guy eating them...no!

Oh well, all the more fun to look forward to next week when I go under 200.

Handicapping America! The 2016 election.

Seems like as good as any to do some fun handicapping of the Presidential race, despite the fact that, as John Oliver pointed out a few weeks back, there will be babies born on Election Day, 2016, to parents who haven’t even met each other yet, so why should we even start discussing it yet.

But since there will be babies born 9 months from now to parents who will meet at a bar somewhere around 1am tonight, I won’t wait to be interested in the election…or to needlessly blog about it.

Just pontificating (if you live near Philly, you cringe any time you see the word “pontif” in a sentence, or even as part of a word, so I apologize to local readers).

So, as of yesterday’s CNN poll, here is the breakdown for the current Republican Presidential Nomination:

Trump 27

Carson 19

Bush 9

Cruz 7

Walker 5, Huckabee 5

Rubio 3, Fiorina 3, Paul 3

Kasich 2, Christie 2

Santorum 1, Jindal 1, Graham 1, Perry 0

First, the easy ones to eliminate:

Cruz, Huckabee, Christie, Santorum, Jindal, Graham, Perry

Somewhat sadly for Chris Christie, who I like on some levels, and not all of them related to our mutual love of Bruce Springsteen, ever since he walked arm in arm with President Obama after Hurricane Sandy, his chances of winning the republican nomination went to zero. Sadly, that would help him hugely in the general election, but he and we will never know for sure. And Ted Cruz at 7% and Mike Huckabee at 5% have no shot either.

I will eliminate them without second thought, but it isn’t obvious based on the above poll:

Ben Carson – if we are this far along and the only thing I know about him besides his, ahem, physical appearance is that he is a neurosurgeon and a born-again, well that tells me that most Rs don’t know much either. But he’s not a politician, and this year, that seems to be the #1 qualification…or lack thereof…that attracts potential voters.

That leaves these guys, who I’ll list in inverse order of their likelihood of being the eventual nominee:

Scott Walker – he is at 5% and fading fast. I was totally on board with him even just a month ago. He interviews so well and even gives good speeches, but he has fallen bigtime in Iowa, where he was leading not long ago. So he is no longer a top-runner.

Carly Fiorina – If I had done this list a month ago, she would have been in the first category. She has done well lately after the first debate and I think she will continue to climb, but I’m going to go ahead and agree with Donald Trump, even though he has since walked back his comments. And I sincerely believe that most Americans would say he exact same thing: 'Look at that face!' I’m sorry, but American voters are not willing to elect someone who is hard to look at, male or female. And to be blunt, she is not easy on the eyes.

Marco Rubio – there are people who still think he is one of the top 3 contenders and I just don’t see it. He looks and sounds more like the captain of the debate team than a President. That said, if he isn’t the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, I’ll be shocked. Either him or Carly Fiorina. We can have a funny-looking VP, because we have just come SO far as a people in the 2010’s!

Donald Trump – I know – most people would have seen him way earlier on this list, and I would too a month ago. But I’m just starting to believe he even has an outside shot, unlike every one I’ve listed before him, though I’m still struggling on giving up on Walker. I just think voters of both parties are in a weird enough mood that it could possible happen, but still very unlikely, despite his big lead in every poll, in every state and even in the country.

John Kasich – Thought I forgot about him, didn’t you? I dunno – maybe it’ just wishful thinking that R voters will come to their senses on this guy. He is definitely not a moderate…but he is the most moderate, and frankly, the most electable, from my perspective.

And finally, the most likely, and you probably know how much I hate picking the guy everyone else says the same thing about:

Jeb! Bush – there are a LOT of Rs who don’t like him, and I can see why. Too thoughtful, too open-minded, too related to his brother. But he has the cash and is more electable than many of the others.

But seriously – Bush vs Clinton again? Like I said in the title above...with that choice, American will surely be handicapped for (4) years to come.

Oh sure, blame it on the dead guy

A bad week, weight-loss-wise. I gained a pound, probably due in part to the funeral of a classy, by-all-accounts-lovable, Irishman, whose awesome family threw a helluva lunch afterwards.

Other than that, I probably ate a little too many chicken tenders, french fries and hash browns at the various baseball games and lunches and breakfasts I went to with friends during the week, but if I believed that, I’d have to somehow blame myself, and we can’t have that.

I’m back on track this week because I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggone it, people like me!

A simple, complex question

I wonder which is the most complex – our brains or the earth?

Both are way over my head in trying to understand them…or in it…or under it…unless I’m in a cave.

And of course, there's always the possibility that both are all in our head.

But that makes my head hurt.

Call it the Nizz-Nizz diet and we'll try to make a full book out of it...though maybe that Nizz part might look a little too familiar for some

Oh right…my update from the Monday weigh-in. Another good week – 2 more pounds, so 8 in 4 weeks and am now at 200 even. I won’t feel like I’ve made real progress until I’m in the mid 190’s but 8 lbs in one month is certainly commendable.

I think what I like best about it though is the discipline I’ve had in keeping to it. I really have been good about sticking to the No Sweets/No Snacks approach. It allows me to eat pretty normal meals, though Cheryl’s generally healthy cooking may be as important as the NS/NS aspect.